Biography

American exotic dancer. Her mom died when she was nine, and her dad married a woman with four kids to add to his existing five. Sexually abused as a kid by a neighbor and the baby sitter, she grew up to be a small Texas town bad girl. She ran away from home and became a prostitute before she was 16.

Barr became one of the first superstars of the porno genre, starring in her first film, "Smart Aleck," at 16. She was also one of the most famous and highly paid strippers, as well as a playmate to gangster Mickey Cohan. She made national news in 1957 when she was arrested for drug possession. She began a 15-year jail term in 1959, but was paroled in 1963 and pardoned in 1967. Married four times, she had one daughter while still involved in her second marriage.

In the early '70s, Barr emerged as a serious poet with her book, "A Gentle Mind - Confused."

The exotic dancer with an event-filled life died on December 30, 2005 at age 70 in Victoria, Texas, reportedly of pneumonia. Thanks to Shelley Ackerman (http://www.karmicrelief.com) for the alert. Shelley points out that Barr was a time-twin of the Dalai Lama!